by Kent Covington Posted 12/04/18, 10:32 am

A fourth U.S. soldier has died from wounds suffered last week in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan. Sgt. Jason Mitchell McClary, a 24-year-old Pennsylvania native, died at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. Three U.S. service members were killed in the explosion last Tuesday near Ghazni, and two others were wounded. It was the deadliest attack against U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said it destroyed a U.S. tank.

by Kent Covington Posted 12/03/18, 11:04 am

French President Emmanuel Macron has asked Prime Minister Édouard Philippe to meet with the heads of major political parties and representatives of a grassroots movement behind violent protests in the country over the weekend. More than 130 people were injured, including 23 police officers, in demonstrations against rising fuel taxes.

by Kent Covington Posted 12/03/18, 10:59 am

The United States and China have reached a 90-day cease-fire in their ongoing trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to the truce at a dinner meeting at the G-20 economic summit in Buenos Aires over the weekend. Trump said he would hold off on plans to raise tariffs Jan. 1 on $200 billion dollars of Chinese goods. The Chinese agreed to buy a “not yet agreed upon, but very substantial amount of agricultural, energy, industrial” and other products from the United States, Trump said. The move would go a long way toward cutting the U.S.

Kent Covington | 11/27/18, 09:34 am

A NASA spacecraft designed to burrow beneath the surface of Mars landed on the Red Planet Monday. It was the end of a six-month, 300-million-mile journey for the InSight spacecraft, which included a perilous descent into the planet’s atmosphere that eventually resulted in a safe landing on the planet’s surface. It’s the first NASA landing on Mars since the Curiosity rover in 2012.

Kent Covington & Mickey McLean | 11/19/18, 11:29 am

Florida this weekend finished recounting its ballots, and Republicans emerged victorious in two big races with national implications. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson conceded Sunday in his race against Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who won by a little more than 10,000 votes out of about 8 million cast. “We must do what Americans have always done: come together for the good of our state and our country,” Scott said in a statement after the results became official.

Kent Covington | 11/07/18, 10:46 am

Jury selection is ongoing in New York this week for the trial of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, one of the world’s most notorious alleged drug lords. Guzman is accused of a violent reign of terror as head of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel. Last year, Mexico extradited Guzman to the United States, where he faces 17 criminal counts, including drug trafficking, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit murder. He faces a possible life sentence in a U.S. prison.

Kent Covington | 11/05/18, 12:27 pm

Candidates and their supporters are out in force Monday making the final push ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections. That’s especially true in Missouri, where polls show a dead heat in the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and her Republican challenger, state Attorney General Josh Hawley—one of several critical races that could decide the balance of power in the Senate. In another close race, former President Barack Obama stumped in Indiana on Sunday in hopes of pushing incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly across the finish line.

Kent Covington | 11/05/18, 10:11 am

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked the Department of Justice on Friday to investigate a woman who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Left-wing activist Judy Munro-Leighton wrote the committee during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing and took credit for writing an anonymous letter accusing the judge and a friend of raping her. When questioned by committee investigators, Munro-Leighton said she did not write the letter in question and had never met Kavanaugh, according to Grassley.

Kent Covington | 11/02/18, 01:01 pm

President Donald Trump is on the campaign trail again Friday, making a final push for Republican candidates ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections. The president campaigned earlier this week in Florida, where polls show Democrats maintaining a small but steady lead in the races for governor and a key U.S. Senate seat. Trump will rally Republicans in Indiana Friday, where GOP challenger Mike Braun hopes to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly in a tight race.

Kent Covington | 11/01/18, 09:58 am

Baseball Hall of Famer Willie McCovey died Wednesday at the age of 80. The San Francisco Giants announced McCovey’s death, saying the fearsome hitter, nicknamed “Stretch” for his 6-foot-4 frame and long arms, passed peacefully “after losing his battle with ongoing health issues.” McCovey, a former first baseman and left fielder, spent nearly his entire career with the Giants. He also played for the San Diego Padres and the Oakland A’s. McCovey was a career .270 hitter with 521 home runs and 1,555 RBIs over 22 big league seasons.